Chapter 16 He wiped away her tears with his fingertips first.

Earlier, she hadn’t clearly seen who the man was from a distance, but now that she was closer, Lin Suisui realized it was Huo Changzheng. Instinctively, she didn’t want to come face to face with him, and was just about to take Doubao on a detour when someone on the court shouted, “Sister-in-law!”

In this compound, a call of “sister-in-law” could refer to many people, so she pretended it wasn’t meant for her—choosing to “not hear” it altogether.

What she didn’t expect was that the soldiers, either too enthusiastic or just refusing to let her go, only shouted louder when she didn’t respond.

“Sister-in-law Lin, over here! The Commander’s playing—come and watch!”

What had started as one person shouting turned into a group heckling. At that point, pretending not to hear was no longer an option.

She could only steel herself and walk over to the court.

“He’s playing basketball?” Lin Suisui said as she reached the court’s edge. She deliberately kept her distance from Huo Changzheng and didn’t look at him, choosing instead to casually greet a young soldier nearby.

But before the young soldier could reply, a solid wall of muscle appeared before her.

“You’re going to the cafeteria?” Huo Changzheng’s voice was calm, but when he spoke to her, his tone was incredibly gentle—nothing like how he addressed his subordinates.

“Mm.” Lin Suisui quickly lowered her head in a fluster, not daring to look him in the eye.

But there he was, bare-chested and standing directly in front of her. Even if she didn’t want to look, those well-defined abs—each of the eight clearly outlined—still invaded her peripheral vision.

Lin Suisui was a perfectly normal 25-year-old woman. Facing those powerful, chiseled abs, to say she felt nothing would be a lie.

She swallowed hard, twice in a row, then kept her head down and said, “Doubao said he’s really hungry, so we’re going to eat first.”

“…”

Doubao, listening to this, wanted to say, I just ate cake. I’m really not that hungry!
But outside, he would never contradict his mother.

Huo Changzheng looked down at her slightly flushed ears, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly. He didn’t “make things difficult” for her and simply said, “Go ahead. Get a portion for me too—I’ll eat when I get back.”

With that permission, it was like she had received a royal pardon. Lin Suisui quickly agreed and hurried away with Doubao in tow.

The basketball court quickly returned to its lively, high-energy atmosphere. It wasn’t until the noise behind her had faded into the distance that Lin Suisui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As for Huo Changzheng, after watching Lin Suisui walk away, he picked up his shirt and put it back on.

“Commander, why are you putting it back on?”

“Not hot anymore, so I’m wearing it.”

“…”

Lin Suisui and Doubao got their lunch and returned straight to the dormitory. Since Huo Changzheng said he’d be back to eat, they didn’t want to eat without him, so they decided to wait for the head of the household.

“Doubao, if you’re hungry, you can eat a small piece of cake first,” Lin Suisui said, following Fang Qianqian’s instructions. She sliced the round chiffon cake into small pieces and arranged them on a plate as a dessert for after the meal.

“Mom, I’m not really hungry. I’ll eat it after lunch,” Doubao replied just as the front door opened.

Huo Changzheng walked in and immediately spotted the cake on the table. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Is this the one you learned to make from Chenghao’s wife today?”

“Yes. Do you want to try it?” Lin Suisui actually thought she had done a good job. Fang Qianqian had also said she had talent, but now that she was offering it to Huo Changzheng, she wasn’t quite as confident.

“Sure.”
Huo Changzheng picked up a piece of cake and stuffed it into his mouth. Though his movements were rough, he chewed slowly and thoughtfully. Finally, he nodded and said, “It’s delicious.”

“Really?” That response was both expected and unexpected—leaving her pleasantly surprised.

“Of course.”
Huo Changzheng looked down at her. Her eyes sparkled with joy, as if little stars had moved in. For a brief moment, he was dazed—he realized it had been a long, long time since he had last seen that kind of light in her eyes. So long, in fact, it felt like it was something from a distant summer.

“If you like it, eat a few more pieces.”
Flustered by his praise, Lin Suisui felt a bit shy.

“Okay.”
Huo Changzheng was very supportive. He picked up another piece of cake and casually asked, “Do you really like making pastries like this?”

“Mm, I do,” Lin Suisui admitted openly.

“If you like it, keep learning,” Huo Changzheng encouraged. “Later, let’s buy something nice to give Chenghao’s wife. She’s teaching you—at the very least, we should offer her something. It wouldn’t be right for her to lose out.”

“I understand.” Lin Suisui nodded. “Let’s eat then.”

The meal was quite good that day, and with the chiffon cake for dessert, everyone left the table satisfied.

After cleaning up, Huo Changzheng suddenly said, “Doubao’s already four. I’m thinking of enrolling him in the daycare here in the compound. What do you think?”

Back in the production team, parents usually raised their own kids. Many people even carried their children on their backs while working in the fields. Forget daycare—there weren’t even facilities like that nearby.

“I can still take care of him myself,” Lin Suisui said. When it came to daycare, her main concern was her son’s feelings. So she turned to him and asked, “Doubao, do you want to go to daycare?”

Doubao thought about it and said, “It’s up to you, Mommy. If you want me to go, I’ll go. If you want me to stay and keep you company, I’ll stay.”

“Your mom has her own things to do,” Huo Changzheng said. “He’s not a baby anymore. Going to daycare will help him make friends, experience group life, and strengthen his body. You can’t keep protecting him forever—he needs to be around other people to build up resistance.”

As long as he wasn’t on a mission, Huo Changzheng could take Doubao for an hour of exercise every day—but that still wasn’t enough. The boy needed to be exposed to the outside world.

Over the past few years, Lin Suisui had indeed sheltered Doubao a lot. It was her first time being a mom. Other women had elders to help and give advice, but she had to rely entirely on herself. She didn’t dare experiment or take risks—her biggest fear was her son getting sick. Eventually, she built a wall around him.

She thought what Huo Changzheng said made a lot of sense, so she asked Doubao, “Doubao, when you go to preschool in the future, Mommy will pick you up right after school, okay?”

“Okay!” Doubao nodded vigorously.

Once they reached an agreement, Huo Changzheng went to make the arrangements. Lin Suisui made a small backpack for Doubao, along with a new outfit. On the third day, he wore his new clothes, slung on his new backpack, and headed to preschool.

The preschool was located within the compound, about a ten-minute walk away. Doubao was very enthusiastic about going to school. He got up early in the morning, and after breakfast, he asked Lin Suisui to take him.

“Alright.” Lin Suisui finished the last bite of her bun and then headed out with Doubao.

“I’ll go with you,” they heard Huo Changzheng say just as they reached the door.

“Don’t you need to go back to the base?” Lin Suisui was slightly surprised. “I can take him myself, I know the way.”

“I know,” he replied.

Knowing was one thing—choosing to come along was another. Since he wanted to go, Lin Suisui had no reason to object. And with him tagging along, Doubao was even happier—walking out holding his daddy’s hand in one and his mommy’s in the other. His smug little expression seemed to announce to the world: “Look at me! I have both a dad and a mom!”

Watching him, Lin Suisui’s eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

Over the years, she had protected Doubao the best she could. But no matter how much she protected him, she couldn’t shield him from other people’s words. He’d been teased many times—people saying his father didn’t want him.

He was still young, but he understood. And he was so sensible—always hiding when he cried, afraid she’d see and get upset too.

“Why are you crying all of a sudden?” came Huo Changzheng’s voice beside her.

Only then did Lin Suisui realize she had tears running down her face.

“It’s nothing.” She hurriedly raised her hand to wipe them, but he beat her to it, gently brushing the tears away with his fingertips.